Chances
by Green and Silver Soul
Summary: Her smile was dark. She would be the one to kill him. She would satisfy her need for justice, she would avenge her loved ones, giving them the life they deserved, even if she died trying it.


_Love, people, you cannot rule nor discipline,_

_Just create fear, and things will be perfect._

The ashes burned under her hands. Her bushy hair was covered in them as she laid on the floor in a silent plea. No tears could come out of her eyes, she didn't have enough strength to cry.

Another wave of pain hit her body and she smiled, because she knew she would be gone soon. The girl could almost hear her friend's laugh. She could already feel the hug her parents would give her when she finally saw them again. Everyone she loved, everyone that was dead she would meet again.

Closing her eyes and letting the darkness surround her, she waited for her death. Tasting the metallic blood in her mouth, she wondered what was taking so long. Suddenly, she felt the grass under her fingers, replacing the ashes, and she knew it was coming. The dark void around her mind tightened and she sighed, ready to finally leave.

The last thing she heard was a voice, asking if she was alright.

(...)

Hermione's breath came out in gasps. The pain was unbearable, but she had endured it before, and she would do it now. She was strong and would not tell him what he wanted to know. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

_"You will break soon, and you will tell me who you really are, mudblood"_

The handsome boy left her in the ground, sweating from the pain. She smiled once again, knowing he would try to kill her soon, after he realised she wasn't going to tell him anything.

But she would be the one to kill him. She would satisfy her need for justice, she would avenge her loved ones, giving them the life they deserved, even if she died trying it. After all, the Gaunt ring had been destroyed by her two days ago, and he was now a mere mortal.

It seemed someone was about to be surprised.

(...)

Looking through the window, Hermione Granger asked herself how this had happened. One moment she had hated him with fierce passion, and suddenly...she had found herself talking to him, listening to his stories, and even comforting him about his past.

Her heart clenched as Tom smiled at her. A true smile, not an arrogant smirk or a sadistic grin. She had discovered a few days ago from her housemates, that they had never seen Riddle do that.

But she could make him smile. And laugh, too. The tension from the first weeks of their relation was still there. Although they were on better terms since spending the whole winter break in the school together, alone in the big castle, he hadn't stopped hating Muggle-borns, and she hadn't stopped despising what he truly was. A monster, she thought.

Even though here, in the Astronomy tower, talking about theories and laughing about their lives, he didn't look like a monster. Or sounded like one. Here, he was just an orphaned boy, who found at Hogwarts a home.

With Hermione, he could be himself.

And she wasn't sure she wanted to kill him anymore.

(...)

Her lips moved in synchrony with his. His tongue assaulted her mouth as one of his hands held her by the waist, and the other caressed her face in a soft way she would've never imagined the future Dark Lord could.

Her mind kept telling her this was wrong, but her body and heart responded without listening to the logical part of her. Her fingers tangled in his hair, his curls tickling her hand. When they finally stopped kissing, and he looked at her with a smirk that was tinted with a real smile, her eyes filled with tears. What she was doing was horrible, but she couldn't stop it.

It seemed Hermione Granger, against all odds, had succumbed to Tom Riddle's charm. And him, the beast unable to care for anyone but himself, had finally found an intellectual, skillful and beautiful witch, who could be his equal. His Lady. It was a pity she was a muggleborn, but he would pretend she was just a pure-blood who had been born into the wrong family.

By now, he was sure that, even if she didn't tell him her secrets, he wouldn't kill her. She meant too much for him to even allow that.

And Hermione knew she was doomed, for, looking into his eyes, she discovered herself not being able to finish his life as she had previously planned.

(...)

_"It was you. You destroyed it. You betrayed me"_

The furious voice belonged to Tom Riddle, and Hermione knew this was the end. Lord Voldemort didn't take betrayal lightly, and she was sure he would kill her.

He screamed at her. _Why? Why did you do it? I trusted you_. And she couldn't answer, because she had done it at the beginning, when she had made her life mission to kill him. But she was in love with the boy now, and she regretted destroying the damned Horcrux.

And so she stood still, waiting for the end, as silent tears came down her face. She hadn't cried since coming to the past, and she was glad she could die letting her feelings out one more time.

Her veins burned with the fire of the torture curse, but she held her head high, looking into his eyes for the last time. She finally gathered enough strength to whisper.

_"I'm sorry, Tom. I love you"_

His eyes widened for a second, but still he raised his wand, the curse leaving his lips in a terrifying soft voice.

_"Avada Kedavra"_

(...)

Hermione opened her eyes once more after believing herself dead. They were instantly met with grey, cold ones, that were looking at her with something similar to fear.

_"It didn't work"_

She smiled. If a person wanted the Unforgivables to work, then she or him had to mean them. Tom didn't want to kill her, he had just been angry. This made her open her arms, reaching for him while repeating the word _sorry_ over and over again.

The boy held her in his arms and told her that life without her would be lonely, depressing. He looked uncomfortable while saying this, since he was not used to showing his emotions. She nodded in understanding and kissed him lightly on his forehead.

_"I suppose I should tell you the truth"_

And so she did. Hermione Granger told Tom Riddle what had happened in the future, who he was and who he would become. She showed him his future self, letting him use legillimency on her.

That day, Tom swore he would never become that man, that monster.

And Hermione's naive thought was

_"I'm glad I couldn't kill him"_

(...)

Her heart seemed to burn from the pain. Her not-so-bushy hair was dirty as she laid on the floor, crying. The tears kept coming, blurring her vision, and she wasn't able to do anything.

Another wave of pain hit her body and she smiled, because she knew she would be gone soon. Her body couldn't endure this pain eternally. The girl could almost hear her friend's laugh. She could already feel the hug her parents would give her when she finally saw them again. Everyone she loved, everyone that was dead she would meet again.

McGonagall had been right, her demented mind reasoned, clever even in the most dreadful pain she had ever felt. You couldn't change the past. She had learned this the hard way. Thinking she could've changed him by simply loving him...she had been so blind, so _naive_.

Closing her eyes and letting the darkness surround her, she waited for a death that would never come. Tasting the metallic blood in her mouth, she wondered what her life would become now. Suddenly, she felt a cold presence enter the room. The dark void around her mind tightened and she sighed, not ready to face him again.

The last thing she heard before being engulfed by a numb feeling was a voice, a frozen whisper.

_"You are mine"_

She should've killed him when she had the chance.


End file.
